Re: Alternanthera species

[David Whittaker <dwhitt at sympatico_ca>]

Paul Sears asked about some Alternanthera he recently purchased.

> I recently bought a plant I believe to be an Alternanthera of some sort.
> I've looked at pictures on the web, and suspect that I have A. sessilis,
> which most sources say won't grow submersed.  Could anyone familiar with
> both A. reineckii and A. sessilis describe the differences for me?

The A. sessilis has wine-coloured stems and smallish emersed leaves. I
was unable to grow it submersed. It is a tough bog plant. Big Als on
Innes Road was selling a whole lot of Alternanthera a week ago. It
looked like A. sessilis. The A. reineckii that I've seen and grown in
Ottawa has softer, less brittle stems and leaves. The leaves are brown
on top and red below, maybe 4 cm long, 8 mm wide. I don't have any left,
but there may be someone in OVAS (Ottawa Valley Aquarium Society) who
does.

Regards,